Japanese authorities will expand their search for poisonous fire ants following recent discoveries of the insect at ports and elsewhere in the country.

Officials of the environment and transport ministries say they will send experts to 68 ports regularly visited by ships from China, Taiwan, Australia and other places where fire ants live. They have been conducting checks at 7 ports so far.

The experts will place traps and insecticidal bait where the ant is likely to be found.

The fire ant is native to South America. It has been discovered in Japan since May, at ports in Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo.

An international organization has halted its screening to name a geological period 126,000 to 770,000 years ago after Japan's Chiba Prefecture due to a data falsification allegation, a Japanese study team said Friday. (Jiji)

Despite advances in treatment, the number of newly confirmed cases of HIV in Japan has remained flat for the past decade, a sign that misconceptions about the disease are making progress towards eradication difficult. (Japan Today)

Two probes in a joint Mercury exploration mission between Japan and Europe, named BepiColombo, will be launched from French Guiana in South America aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in October. (the-japan-news.com)